SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (February 7) In response to the recent storms that swept across the southeast United States on February 5 and 6, Direct Relief has extended offers of support of medical inventories to partner clinics, clinic associations, and emergency officials in affected communities, and has ensured that Direct Relief's resources, if needed, are coordinated with other responding agencies to best serve any affected residents.

Among those contacted are 12 safety-net clinics in the affected area and the National Association of Community Health Centers, an organization that represents more than 1,000 Federally Qualified Health Centers across all 50 states. These safety-net clinics serve as the point of care of a large percentage of the nation's poor and uninsured, people who are disproportionately affected in the aftermath of natural disasters.

Reports estimate that at least 52 people across Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee have died as a result of the storms, and thousands of homes have been destroyed. States of emergency have been declared in Arkansas, Kentucky, and Mississippi.

Direct Relief has a history of responding to emergencies in the southeast, having provided $47 million worth of medical aid and targeted cash investments to communities affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.